


Slowly, Steadily, Softly

by queenofwrecksandruins



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Getting Together, Homophobia, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-27 00:43:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8381101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenofwrecksandruins/pseuds/queenofwrecksandruins
Summary: In a land of uni and clubbing, the destiny of a great clotpole rests on the shoulders of a young man. His name...Merlin.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [ Kristy ](http://space-pirate.tumblr.com/) and Tirza for proofreading this, and listening to my ramblings about everything! <3
> 
> Come and find me on [ Tumblr ](http://queenofwrecksandruins.tumblr.com/)

***Merlin***

 

Excitement was flowing through Merlin as he looked at the place before him. New city, new school. Well technically, university wasn’t school now was it? Luckily he wasn’t completely alone. He had Gwen, one of his best friends, to share this new adventure with. He didn’t even have to live on his own; Gwen and he had rented a small flat together so that they could start off together. All in all, it was great, although also a bit daunting.

 

And now the first day had finally arrived. Merlin was both nervous and excited to meet new people and learn new things. As he was walking to his first lecture he took in everything. The buildings, the people, the general buzz that seemed to go around the university. Camelot College was one of the best universities there was, with an equally high rating from the students themselves.

 

As Merlin was looking around, he didn’t really see where he was going. That was the reason he collided with a quite solid object and lost balance, which resulted in Merlin ending sprawled on the floor.

 

“Watch where you’re going,” a voice grunted at him.

 

Before Merlin had time to apologise or respond in any way he looked up to see a blond mop of hair walk away from him.

 

“Hey, you also ran into me, you clotpole,” Merlin shouted after him.

 

The guy didn’t stop, but looked around, clearly amused by Merlin’s choice of words, shaking his head.

 

What an ass, Merlin thought to himself.

 

*****

 

After a full week of getting used to the new routine, meeting new people, and loads of introductions, Merlin was glad it was finally weekend.

 

Gwen and Merlin were both getting ready to go to the pub on the square where more introductory meetings were held in order to get the new students to acclimate.

 

“Are you nearly done, Gwen?” Merlin sighed. He had been waiting for 20 minutes already, with Gwen claiming that she would be ready in ‘just five minutes, Merlin, I swear’ for the past 15 minutes.

 

He heard some stumbling on the other side of the flat, followed by footsteps. Gwen popped up in the door opening, squinting at Merlin.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” she giggled, “impatient.” She twirled around in front of Merlin.

 

“What do you think?”

 

“Gorgeous, as always. If I was actually straight, I would definitely consider tapping that,” he said with a smirk.

 

Gwen made a stage-gasp, after which she dissolved into a fit of giggles, Merlin laughing with her.

 

“Good to know, Merlin. I think you look very dapper as well. Are you going to see if there are any fit blokes that might want to tap that?” She made a ridiculous eyebrow-waggle and blushed when she said the last thing.

 

“Oh my god, shut up,” Merlin murmured.

 

Gwen kissed him on the cheek. “You know I love you, right?”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I love you too.”

 

“Good. You ready to go?”

 

And with that they finally left for the square.

 

*****

 

The square was filled with stands, advertising different sororities, fraternities and other clubs; there were people everywhere. The crowd made it hard to simply move from one side of the square to the other. Gwen and Merlin decided to look at the stand before looking around at the pubs. Merlin looked around with wonder in his eyes. There was a club for literally everything it seemed! Chess, football, Physics, books, and so much more.

 

Merlin’s eyes were drawn to a stand on the other side of the square: a colourful stand with a very big rainbow flag behind it, all sorts of people standing around it.

 

Merlin grinned to himself. Yes, this was definitely different than the small town he and Gwen came from.

 

Gwen caught him and searched what he was grinning about. When her eyes found the stand, she gave Merlin a knowing smirk.

 

They looked around the various stands for a bit, trying to stay close together so they wouldn’t lose each other in the big crowd.

 

When they came closer to the LBGT stand, Gwen started pulling Merlin forward.

 

“Gwen, what..?”

 

“Come on, let’s see what that one is.”

 

Merlin let himself be dragged toward the stand. When they arrived they were greeted by various people looking up from their conversations with other new students, smiling at them.

 

Merlin talked with a couple of people from the stand, receiving a schedule for several meetings in one of the pubs and other activities, and an open invitation to drop by one time. One of the guys standing near the stand struck up a conversation with him and Gwen.

 

“You’re new here aren’t you?”

 

“Yeah, first year actually. Why?” Merlin asked.

 

“Oh, I remember what my face must have looked like last year when I was new here, and you my friend, look exactly like I did then.”

 

Gwen giggled and the guy looked at her with a smug look.

 

“The name’s Gwaine,” he said, holding out his hand.

 

“Gwen.” She shook his hand. “And this is Merlin.”

 

“Hey,” Merlin said, also shaking the guy’s hand.

 

“Would you two like to get away from this overfilled square and maybe get a drink in one of the pubs?”

 

“Yes,” they both answered, clearly desperate to get away from the crowd.

 

Merlin looked at Gwaine. “Which pub did you have in mind?”

 

Gwaine gave Merlin a cocky grin. “Oh, I know just the place.”

 

*****

 

Gwaine led them into one of the pubs. It was still crowded, but less so than the square. Gwaine made his way to the back of the pub. Merlin could see a group of people already sitting there. When one of the guys spotted Gwaine he smiled and waved him over.

 

“Guys, meet Gwen and Merlin. They’re new this year.”

 

A chorus of hello’s and hey’s greeted both Gwen and Merlin. Gwen blushed shyly and smiled. Merlin waved at everyone.

 

“Why don’t you grab a chair and join us?” a girl in the group said.

 

“Excellent idea!” Gwaine stated, pulling up three chairs seemingly out of nowhere.

 

When everyone settled down, and Gwen and Merlin sat down, Merlin finally looked around the group. The group consisted of four guys, including Gwaine, and a girl.

 

When Merlin looked everyone over, one of the guys was staring at him. The guy had blond hair, and Merlin felt like he had seen that guy somewhere before.

 

Slowly, he started to realise where he had seen that guy before but before he could figure out where the guy suddenly shouted “Hey, aren’t you that bloke that ran into me the other day?”

 

Merlin gaped at the guy. “You ran into me as well.”

 

The guy ignored him and said “And you called me something. What was it again? Cl-… ch-… no, cl-…”

 

“Clotpole.”

 

“Yes, that was it. What does that even mean?”

 

The girl on the guy’s right interrupted. “Arthur, be nice.”

 

The guy, Arthur, looked at her, and simply stated “I am _always_ nice.”

 

Everyone started laughing. 

 

The guy to Merlin’s right looked at Merlin and smiled. “Don’t worry about Arthur, he is something. I’m Leon.”

 

Merlin smiled at him. “Merlin.”

 

Before Leon could respond, Arthur said “What kind of name is Merlin anyway?”

 

The girl on his right looked at him again, and said, in a more threatening tone this time, “Arthur, _be nice_.”

 

The girl then looked at Merlin and Gwen, and smiled as well. “I’m Morgana. This idiot is my half-brother. Don’t mind him, he just doesn’t know any better.” With that, Morgana grinned at Arthur, who apparently got the message and decided to shut up.

 

The two other guys introduced themselves as Lance and Percival. Percival was also a first year, but already knew Leon from their home town, Leon told Merlin and Gwen.

 

Merlin noticed that Gwen wasn’t really paying attention, but instead was sneaking glances at Lance, who was sneaking glances back at her, both blushing when the other noticed them.

 

Merlin grinned to himself. Yes, this was definitely going to be fun.


	2. Chapter 2

***Merlin***

 

Merlin and Gwen soon found themselves completely immersed in Gwaine’s group of friends. Everybody was very nice, and even Arthur and Merlin struck up this weird sort of friendship, where they would shout sarcastic comments back and forth. Gwen and Lance kept making heart-eyes at each other from a distance, after which they would shyly look away when the other caught them looking. It was altogether very nice.

 

Merlin and Gwen also got used to their new surroundings with regards to university pretty quickly. They found it easy to either cook in turns or go out to eat somewhere, either by themselves or with their new friends.

 

On one of these nights, after eating with the whole group together, the guys wanted to hit a club before heading home.

 

“Come on, Merlin, join us,” Leon said. Gwen and Morgana had already decided they weren’t going to join, with Gwen wanting to study, and Morgana being too ‘busy for these boy-outings’, as she called it.

 

“Yeah, just get your mind of things, get together with a girl, relax for a bit,” Arthur stated.

 

“Guy,” Merlin mumbled.

 

“What?”

 

“Get together with a guy.” Merlin blushed a bit. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of being gay, because he hadn’t been for a long time, this just wasn’t the way he wanted his new friends to find out.

 

Slowly, he looked up, only to see Percival give him a small smile, while Gwaine nodded at him reassuringly.

 

“Fine, guy, whatever, will you join is or not?” Leon sighed.

 

“Yeah, okay, why not?”

 

A small cheer went around the group of boys at finally having come to a decision. They went out to pay for their food, and went in search of a club.

 

*****

 

“So, what is your type of guy exactly?”

 

They were in a club, scattered all around, and Percival was currently talking to Merlin at the bar.

 

“Uh.” Merlin pointedly tried not to think about guys with blonde hair.

 

“Hmmm.” Percival hummed, and took a sip of his beer.

 

“What about you?” Merlin looked up when he heard Percival choke on his drink.

 

“Wh –,“ more coughs, “what?”

 

Merlin blushed. “Well, it just, well, you keep looking at that guy that is dancing with Gwaine, so I thought…”

 

“I wasn’t looking at him,” Percival said hastily. A small blush crept up his neck towards his cheeks.

 

“Oh, yes, of course, I didn’t want to assume, I so-“

 

“I was looking at Gwaine,” Percival whispered softly, so softly that Merlin almost didn’t hear it.

 

It was silent for a bit. Merlin took a sip of his beer and looked around to see where the rest of their group was. Leon and Arthur were both dancing with a group of girls, while Gwaine was still dancing with the same guy.

 

“Please don’t tell him.”

 

Merlin looked around, only to see Percival staring at him with pleading eyes.

 

“Of course, I won’t say anything if you don’t want me to.”

 

“It’s just…I don’t want to make him uncomfortable, and he is probably not interested anyway, and I don’t really have any other good friends here, and it would be awkward, wouldn’t it, and…” Percival rambled on.

 

Merlin put a hand on Percival’s shoulder. “It’s fine, really, but I think you might take…”

 

He was abruptly stopped when Gwaine popped up between the two of them, grinning like crazy. “Are you ladies going to sit here all night and talk, or are you going to dance with me?”

 

Merlin looked at Gwaine, and gave him an apologizing smile. “I’m still a bit full from dinner, but maybe Percival would like to dance?” He looked at Percival pointedly.

 

Percival swallowed, and nodded shyly. Gwaine’s grin turned into a big smile, after which he dragged Percival out on the dancefloor.

 

Merlin looked around again towards Leon and Arthur, but he only saw Leon dancing with one of the girls from the group. Confused, Merlin looked around in search of Arthur, but before he could find him, someone plopped down on the seat Percival had just left vacant.

 

Merlin turned around, only to be faced with a slightly buzzed guy. The guy had dark hair, with big brown eyes, and a menacing grin that made Merlin shiver a little bit.

 

“Hey, gorgeous. What is someone like you doing here all alone?” the guy asked.

 

“Sitting, drinking, enjoying myself, I suppose”, Merlin responded hesitantly.

 

“Oh, you want to enjoy yourself? I could show you a good time, for sure.” The guy slowly leaned in closer to Merlin.

 

Merlin leaned away a bit, while muttering “Thanks, but no thanks.”

 

Before Merlin could move away any further, his back came in touch with something solid, and before he could move around to see who he had bumped into, he heard a familiar voice ask “Merlin, are you okay?”

 

The guy looked up at Arthur, clearly annoyed at being interrupted. “Hey man, why don’t you go somewhere else? I was just having a lovely conversation with this beautiful creature.”

 

Arthur didn’t respond to the guy, and instead moved to Merlin’s side, pointedly looking at Merlin before he asked “Merlin, are you okay? Is he bothering you?”

 

Merlin was gaping at Arthur, clearly still a little baffled about Arthur’s presence.

 

Before Merlin could say anything else, Arthur turned around to the guy and almost growled “Why don’t you leave him alone and beat it.”

 

The guy looked like he was about to protest, but something about Arthur’s face must have made him changed his mind, because he closed his mouth and slowly slid of the seat. “I’ll see you around sometime, gorgeous.” With that, he was gone.

 

Merlin stared after him with open mouth, and when he could no longer see the man, he turned to Arthur, who had taken the seat the other man had just left empty.

 

After a few seconds, Arthur looked up at Merlin, and after seeing Merlin’s face, said “You might want to close that, Merlin, you’ll attract flies.”

 

“Well, it also got you to me, my prat in shining armour to protect me, didn’t it?” Merlin wanted to slap himself, he did not mean that to be so flirtatious.

 

Arthur coughed, and promptly changed the subject. “I could really go for a beer, you want anything else?”

 

“I, yes please, another beer would be nice.”

 

While Arthur tried to get the bartender’s attention, Merlin looked at Arthur. He looked at Arthur’s shiny golden hair, slightly wet from dancing. His bright blue eyes. Before Arthur spoke to the bartender, he licked his lips, which caused all of Merlin’s attention to shoot there.

 

Merlin was still staring at Arthur when he turned to Merlin again, two beers in his hands. He raised an eyebrow at Merlin and made a small nod towards the beers.

 

Merlin blushed. “Oh right yes, thank you”, he said as he took one of the beers.

 

Arthur grinned. “Cheers, mate.”

 

“Cheers”, Merlin mumbled while looking at Arthur take sips, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly as he gulped his beer. Merlin averted his eyes, and gulped down his beer as well. Fuck, he thought.

 


	3. Chapter 3

***Merlin***

 

It was an uneventful evening towards the end of October when Merlin was trying his best to finish a paper. Unfortunately, Merlin had to admit that he hadn’t done as much writing the last hour, he mostly stared at his screen and sighed every couple of minutes. Merlin was home alone, so he couldn’t go bother Gwen to see if she could bring him out of this writer’s block.

 

After another ten minutes and a few rounds of sighs, Merlin was about to finally give up when his phone started ringing. Without looking who it was, he picked up the phone.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Merlin, stop trying to torture yourself with homework and come join us in the park.” Morgana’s voice was clear and stern, but with a hint of amusement.

 

“Fine, I was about to give up anyway. I’ll see you in a bit.”

 

“Great, see you soon!”

 

After hanging up, Merlin gathered his stuff and made his way towards the park.

 

When he arrived at the park, he saw Gwen and Morgana sitting on the grass, a bottle of wine in Morgana’s hand, while the guys were playing football nearby. Merlin went up to Gwen and Morgana, greeted them, and eagerly accepted the bottle of wine Morgana handed him.

 

Gwen mumbled a quick greeting, after which her attention went back to the guys playing football. When taking a closer look, Merlin could see why: the guys had split up into two groups, playing shirts versus skins, with Lance on team skins. Merlin had to admit, objectively speaking, Lance looked hot. When Merlin’s eyes went over the other guys, his gaze stuck on one of them.

 

Arthur, who was also on team skins, had just passed the ball to Leon, and slowed down to a light jog. As if feeling eyes on him, Arthur’s gaze went towards the little group, and he smiled and waved when he saw Merlin.

 

Merlin smiled sheepishly and waved back at Arthur.

 

When Merlin finally managed to tear his eyes away from Arthur’s naked upper body, he saw that Morgana was looking at him with a smirk, eyebrow raised.

 

“What?”

 

“Oh, nothing. This is going to be so much fun,” she mumbled and she gave Gwen a look.

 

“What is going to be fun? What is going on?” Merlin quickly looked at Gwen, who just giggled and gave him an apologising look.

 

Merlin huffed and took another swig of the wine.

 

After a while the guys got tired of playing and joined the small group. Another bottle of wine and several bottles of beer appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and everyone started chatting animatedly.

 

A few more groups of people had the same idea as their group, and sat together in the park. Merlin was distracted by loud whispers coming from a group near theirs. When he looked up, he saw three girls watching him, while a guy looked away quickly.

 

He heard one of the girls whisper “Yes, I know for sure, he is in one of my classes, just go.”

 

Merlin´s attention, however, was quickly drawn back to his own group when the guys had dared Gwaine to down a whole bottle of wine, all cheering him on loudly.

 

Merlin had completely forgotten about the other group until they were all ready to go back home again. A tap on his shoulder got his attention. When he turned around, he saw the guy from the other group standing near him.

 

“Uh, hi.”

 

“Hi. Oh god, I’m so sorry, but they made me do this, and I really didn’t want to bother you but I couldn’t help but notice you look kinda nice,” the guy mumbled very fast, needing to catch his breath, “but I was wondering ifyouwouldliketograbadrinksometime.”

 

Merlin was caught off guard, so the only thing he could respond with was “Huh?”

 

The guy coughed awkwardly and said “I uh…was wondering, would you like to grab a drink sometime? With me, that is.”

 

“Oh. Yeah, sure.” Merlin gave the guy his best smile.

 

The guy smiled back blindingly. “Great, if you give me your number, I will give you a call.”

 

After exchanging numbers, the guy hurried back to his friends, who squealed and patted him on the back.

 

Before Merlin could turn around again, he was slapped on the back as well.

 

“Good job, mate,” Gwaine said in a cheerful way.

 

Merlin grinned and looked around, where Gwen was giving him a thumbs up.

 

Before anyone else could say anything, Arthur mumbled “Yes, great, can we go now?”, after which he stormed off.

 

Morgana only sighed, shook her head, and went after Arthur, after which everyone else followed.

 

*****

 

The next few days Merlin found himself immersed in texts from the guy from the park, whose name was Jeffrey.

 

During one of their group dinners, Merlin found himself not paying attention to the conversation, instead texting with Jeffrey, who found Merlin’s name “fascinating” and thought Merlin’s ears were “adorable”.

 

All of a sudden, he was punched in the arm.

 

“Ouch. What was that for?”

 

Morgana, who packed a harder punch than many people thought, smirked at him and said “That, my dear, was for ignoring me and grinning at your phone like a madman. When are you going to meet your new boytoy for a drink?”

 

Arthur snorted. “As if Merlin could ever get himself a boytoy.”

 

“What was that, Arthur,” Morgana looked at him pointedly, “you aren’t jealous, are you?”

 

Arthur gave Morgana a look Merlin couldn’t quite place. “No, pff, jealous? Me? Of Merlin?”

 

Now their whole group was looking at Arthur. Arthur seemed to notice this as well, because he quickly said “But yeah, when are you going to meet _Jeffrey_?” 

 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Merlin asked, getting a little angry at Arthur’s tone.

 

“Nothing. Just, nothing, forget it.”

 

“Anyway, I think I might meet him tomorrow if you all insist I should.”

 

After a round of cheers, a pat on the back from Gwaine and a “Way to go” from Percival, the subject was dropped.

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

***Arthur***

 

Arthur closed the door behind him and dropped his sports bag on the floor. He took a deep breath and huffed. Football training had been particularly gruelling today. First, they had to run laps for 30 minutes. After some time, some of their friends had shown up to watch them train, which was nothing unusual.

 

Today however, it had vexed Arthur to no end that when he had looked up, he only saw Morgana and Gwen. Merlin was probably too busy with being on cute dates with _Jeffrey_ , too busy to hang out with his friends, and when he had voiced his disapproval to Gwaine, the guy had only given him an odd look.

 

So now Arthur was done, ready to eat something, and maybe hang out at the club around the corner before calling it a night and heading off to bed.

 

However, the universe wasn’t granting him any of this, because when he moved from his spot at the door, he saw that Morgana was sitting at his table, slowly sipping coffee.

 

“Don’t you have your own flat or other people to bother?” Arthur sighed.

 

“Don’t be silly, Arthur, you know I have my own flat, I just wanted to see how my brother was doing.”

 

Arthur sighed again. “Fine. Tired. Hungry.”

 

“What has gotten your panties in a twist?” Morgana was looking at him with that look that he hated. That look that told him that no matter what he answered, she already had her own idea, which was usually correct.

 

“I just. I don’t know. I’m tired, I just want to eat something and dance and drink for a bit and then just sleep.”

 

Morgana hummed. “You sure that’s it?”

 

God, he hated how Morgana always acted like she knew everything. “Yes,” he gritted out.

 

“Are you sure it has nothing to do with the lack of a certain cheerleader tonight?”

 

“What?” Arthur stopped from where he had been rummaging in his cupboards looking for something to eat, and turned around to look at Morgana.

 

Morgana grinned at him. “Or, that said cheerleader is spending his or her time doing something other than cheering? Something like dating people that look surprisingly like the people they used to cheer on? With blond hair and blue eyes and…”

 

“I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.” Arthur gave up on his search for something healthy to eat and grabbed a cookie, devouring it immediately.

 

“Sure you do.” Arthur just glared at her. “Fine, whatever, enjoy your time in denial. Don’t stay up too late brother, we are having lunch with father tomorrow.” With that, she stood up and left the flat.

 

Arthur continued to glare at the door. With a huff, he grabbed his phone and texted Gwaine.

 

*****

 

When Arthur entered the club, it was quite crowded. Gwaine, Percival and Leon should be in there somewhere. After a quick search he spotted Leon at the bar, and headed over.

 

Leon spotted him, waved at him and mouthed whether he wanted a drink as well. Arthur nodded quickly, and looked around the rest of the club. Somewhere farther off, he spotted Gwaine, dancing wildly in his very Gwaine-way. Arthur snorted out a laugh. He also saw Percival near Gwaine, swaying a bit to the music, clearly already too tipsy to care.

 

When he turned around again, Leon handed him a beer, which he quickly accepted. He took a few sips, and gestured towards Gwaine and Percival, looking at Leon in a questioning way. Leon merely grinned and shrugged.

 

After they finished their first few beers, Arthur and Leon decided to dance for a bit as well. In no time they were surrounded by pretty girls, and Arthur was enjoying the attention.

 

When he looked towards Gwaine and Percival again, he didn’t see them straight away. He had to look a bit farther, but eventually he spotted them in a far off corner, kissing each other like their lives depended on it.

 

He elbowed Leon and nodded his head towards the corner. Leon looked over, and, when he saw what Arthur meant, he snorted. Arthur was happy for his friends. Good for them. He would still make fun of them later though.

 

When Arthur turned around again to continue his dancing with one of the girls, he spotted something that made him stop. On the other side of the club, Merlin was dancing his heart out, but he wasn’t alone. Dancing with him was _Jeffrey_ , and now that Arthur was looking properly he could see that they weren’t so much dancing, but just making out.

 

Arthur glared. Before he could do anything or point out to Leon what he had seen, he was bumped into by an enormous guy, who spilled his beer all over Arthur.

 

“Can’t you see where you’re going?” he asked, anger clear in his voice.

 

“I’m sorry princess,” the guy sneered.

 

Before Arthur could think about what he was doing, his fist connected to the guy’s jaw, sending him staggering back. Leon grabbed a hold of Arthur’s arm, trying to pull him off the dance floor, towards the exit.

 

The guy looked taken aback by the sudden move of violence, but he quickly recovered and, before Leon had a chance to drag Arthur out of his reach, his fist connected to Arthur’s cheekbone, quickly followed by a punch in the nose.

 

Pain spread right under Arthur’s eye, and he felt liquid flowing from his nose, which clearly meant his nose was bleeding.

 

Leon finally managed to drag Arthur away from the guy, who was being restrained by some other guys.

 

When they came outside, Leon pushed Arthur farther away from the club, before angrily asking “What the hell, Arthur?”

 

Arthur’s hand slowly moved up to his eye, which hurt like hell, and yeah, that was definitely going to bruise.

 

“He walked into me, threw his beer all over me. I wasn’t having that, Leon.”

 

“I don’t get it, I have never seen you fight in a club in my life.”

 

“Well,” Arthur mumbled, “once has to be the first time.”

 

“Are you sure you’re okay, Arthur?”

 

Arthur turned around and quickly said “Yeah, I’m just going home now.”

 

The walk wasn’t that long, since the club was just around the corner from Arthur’s flat. When Arthur entered his flat, he was suddenly too tired to do anything, so he dropped on his bed with his clothes on, and promptly fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

***Arthur***

 

“So, you aren’t going to tell me what happened? Because I will find out, you know.” Morgana gave Arthur an unimpressed eyebrow after Arthur had once again insisted that nothing had happened.

 

When Morgana and Arthur had met up at the restaurant they were supposed to meet Uther 5 minutes ago, she quickly went through a cycle of emotions, asking fast questions about what had happened and threatening whoever had laid a hand on Arthur. When she realized Arthur wasn’t going to tell her what happened, she resigned and apparently made up her mind that it was all Arthur’s fault.

 

Before Arthur could finally give Morgana an answer, they heard a voice coming from behind them.

 

“What was it this time, Arthur?”

 

Arthur cringed. There was only one person who could make him do that, and that was his father.

 

Uther sat down and looked at Arthur, disappointment clear on his face.

 

Arthur wanted to tell them what happened, but before he had the chance, Uther spoke again.

 

“It was probably that Gwaine, wasn’t it? That boy has no morals, and quite frankly I don’t understand why you still hang around people of his….kind.”

 

“His kind?” Arthur asked, confusion seeping through his voice.

 

“Yes. Indecent, undisciplined, and it is not normal, always hopping from people to people.”

 

At this Morgana spoke up. “Are you seriously not okay with him being anything but straight?” Uther opened his mouth to speak, but Morgana went on. “Because I think it is very brave that he can be true to himself, and be who he truly is.”

 

When Arthur looked up, he found Morgana looking at him instead of Uther. Arthur swallowed thickly.

 

Uther looked between Morgana and Arthur.

 

Arthur said “Yes, very brave,” and gave Morgana his most pleading look, asking her silently to drop the subject. “It was a fist fight and Gwaine was nowhere in sight. So. There it is.”

 

After this, the subject was dropped, and lunch went on in a somewhat forced way.

 

Later, when the somewhat stilted conversation had already died down, Uther coughed, getting both Morgana’s and Arthur’s attention.

 

“Next Sunday we will have dinner at our house. A few guests will attend as well, among who Lady Nemeth, accompanied by Mithian. I expect you both to attend, and be on your best behaviour.”

 

Arthur sighed. So that’s what this was. Another attempt of his father to play matchmaker between Mithian and Arthur.

 

Uther looked pointedly at Arthur. “Arthur, Mithian is a lovely, decent girl from a nice upbringing, and she is perfectly suitable for you.”

 

Arthur remained silent. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Mithian, she was a very pleasant person to be around, and Arthur liked her perfectly fine, he just didn’t love her, and he didn’t think he ever could.

 

“It is time for you to stop playing around, Arthur, to find someone nice and suitable and settle down.”

 

Arthur knew what his father meant, even though he would never say it out loud. It was expected of him to settle down, marry someone respectable and carry on the line of Pendragon.

 

“I am only doing this in your best interests, Arthur. One day you can take over the firm, but you need to be ready, and not some indecent, undisciplined young man.”

 

Arthur looked down at his empty plate and mumbled “Yes, father.”

 

*****

 

Arthur stumbled back into his flat, and slammed the door shut. They had gone clubbing again and Arthur had been completely content with getting buzzed again, humming along to the songs. He had even accepted the fact that he was genuinely happy to see Merlin when he showed up, only for his mood to turn sour when he noticed that Merlin was accompanied by Jeffrey.

 

His mood hadn’t gotten better when Jeffrey had kept a hand around Merlin’s waist at all times.

 

Arthur had finally had enough of it and grumbled he was going home, hence the slamming of his front door.

 

He dropped face first onto his couch with a deep sigh. Not long after, his door opened softly, and closed not shortly after. Arthur had no doubt in his mind that Morgana had followed him.

 

The couch dipped near his head, and he slowly turned around, looking up at Morgana.

 

Morgana didn’t say anything for a moment, just looked at him, until she said softly “Arthur…”

 

Arthur sat up, looked Morgana in the eye, and slurred “I think I like guys, Morgs.”

 

Morgana enveloped him in a tight hug and stroked his hair. “Oh, Arthur, that is fine, I love you nonetheless.”

 

Arthur put his face in Morgana’s neck and sighed deeply. He pulled his face away from Morgana, and looked at her, eyes starting to water.

 

“I like one of my friends…and he doesn’t like me.”

 

“Oh Arthur, don’t say that…”

 

“He has a boyfriend, Morgs.” Arthur was close to crying now, his intoxicated state getting the better of him.

 

“You could tell him, Art,” Morgana suggested.

 

“No!” Arthur shouted. That would be the end of their friendship, and he would rather have Merlin as a friend than not have him at all.

 

Morgana sighed, stroked his hair again, looked at him and said “Okay. You want to watch some trash-telly?”

 

Arthur gave an affirmative mumble and they settled in together on the couch.


	6. Chapter 6

***Merlin***

 

Weeks went by quite uneventfully, with the group occasionally going out to a bar or eating together. When he didn’t have anything to do with the whole group, he would either have a quiet night in with Gwen, sometimes accompanied by Morgana, or go on a date with Jeffrey.

 

That particular night was date night. Merlin and Jeffrey had agreed to meet on the square at 8 o’clock so that they could walk to the cinema together. Merlin was waiting for Jeffrey to arrive when he felt a slap on the back and immediately an arm was thrown over his shoulder.

 

“Hey, Merlin, are you joining us for a drink at the pub?” Gwaine’s voice sounded cheerful in his ear.

 

Merlin turned around under Gwaine’s arm and saw that he was not alone; Leon, Percival and Arthur were walking up behind Gwaine.

 

“No sorry, can’t, Jeffrey and I are going to see a film tonight,” Merlin stated with a smile. Out of the corner of his eye, Arthur looked like someone had just kicked his puppy, which couldn’t be right, could it?

 

“Ah, too bad. Another time then, mate.” With another slap on the back, Gwaine started walking towards the pub.

 

Merlin smiled and waved at the others, who were slowly walking after Gwaine again, Leon giving Merlin a nod and Percival gave him a little wave. Arthur merely walked past him, his face a picture of nonchalance. Merlin shrugged to himself. He must have not seen it properly.

 

*****

 

The film was nice. It hadn’t been anything special. It had just been…nice. Afterwards Jeffrey had walked Merlin home, after which he had kissed Merlin and they had said their goodbyes.

 

Upon entering the flat, Merlin could hear the television and both Gwen and Morgana giving commentary.

 

When he walked into the living room, he was greeted by the girls, who were slouched on the couch.

 

“Hey, Merls.” Gwen smiled at him. Morgana gave him a little wave. “How was your date?”

 

Merlin grabbed a soda and joined them on the couch, poking them until they scooted over enough for him to sit with them. “It was…nice.”

 

Gwen clearly heard his hesitation, as she immediately sat up straighter and turned to look him in the eye. “Nice?”

 

“Yeah, it was, you know, nice.”

 

Now Morgana was turning to look at him as well. “Just nice?”

 

Merlin swallowed, and looked from Gwen to Morgana and back. “I…don’t know? It was nice, but it was just…”

 

“Nice?” Gwen supplied.

 

“Yes,” Merlin said.

 

“Merlin,” Gwen said softly, “if you think dates with Jeffrey are just ‘nice’….”

 

“Yes, yes, I know, I shouldn’t lead him on. It’s just…no one has actually ever wanted to date me. And, granted, Jeffrey isn’t exactly my type, but at least he wanted to date me.”

 

Gwen gave him a small smile. “Oh, Merlin, there are plenty of guys who want to date you.”

 

Merlin scoffed.

 

Morgana huffed out a laugh. “Merlin, listen to Gwen, you will find a guy someday, believe me.”

 

Gwen nodded. “Now, do we need to grab the ice-cream?”

 

Merlin shook his head. “I think…I have to tell him, don’t I?”

 

Gwen and Morgana both stared at him pointedly.

 

“Yeah, okay, just,” Merlin sighed, “I will go to him right now and tell him, okay?”

 

“Don’t worry about it, we will be here when you get back,” Gwen reassured him.

 

Merlin sighed again, stood up, grabbed his jacket, and left the flat.

 

*****

 

Jeffrey took it surprisingly well. He listed to Merlin’s whole story, his apologies, and even told him to not feel bad, stating that he was already happy to have gone on more than one date with Merlin.

 

After that, Merlin made his way out of Jeffrey’s flat, Jeffrey saying “Don’t be a stranger.”

 

Merlin slowly made his way home, thinking about what he had just done.

 

When he re-entered his own flat, Gwen and Morgana were still patiently waiting for him on the couch, just like they promised, a big bowl of ice-cream and three spoons ready to go.

 

Merlin gave a sad smile and joined them on the couch.

 

After finishing half of the bowl, Merlin laid down his spoon. “Okay, enough with the self-pity.”

 

Morgana put her spoon down as well. “I agree. So, Gwen, how is it going with you and Lance? You good and ready to go on a double-date with Percival and Gwaine?”

 

Gwen choked on her bite of ice-cream and started coughing.

 

Merlin and Morgana laughed. When Gwen had regained her breath, she blushed and mumbled “Oh, shut up you two,” which only made Merlin and Morgana laugh harder.

 

Before Morgana could do anything, she was wacked in the face with a pillow, and when she looked up, she saw Gwen looking quite triumphant. This in turn started a pillow-war. After the pillow-war had spread throughout the whole living room, leaving all three of them breathless and laughing, they settled for another film on Netflix. The rest of the evening was spend bickering and bantering, which was accompanied by Morgana’s commentary on every single thing the characters from the film said.


	7. Chapter 7

***Merlin***

 

The next day Merlin woke up feeling surprisingly light, like a weight had been lifted of his shoulders. He felt so much better, knowing that he wasn’t leading Jeffrey on anymore. Merlin rolled out of bed, and slowly started making his way towards the kitchen, where Gwen was already making breakfast.

 

“Good morning,”  Gwen smiled at him.

 

“Good morning to you too,” Merlin said, a slow smile forming on his face.

 

“Did you sleep well?”

 

“Yeah, I did. You? I didn’t even hear Morgs leave.”

 

“Yes, I slept fine, Morgs left an hour or so after you went to bed.” Gwen looked at him curiously. “So?”

 

Merlin looked at Gwen. “So what?”

 

“So, how do you feel now? No regrets?”

 

Merlin snorted. “No, I really think it was for the best. I actually feel better now than I did yesterday.”

 

“Ah, that’s good. Any plans for today?”

 

Merlin thought for a second. “Not really, what about you?”

 

Gwen smiled at him. “Well, we could go to the park together, and then have lunch at the bistro, if you want?”

 

The smile on Merlin’s face widened. “Sounds great. Breakfast first, though.”

 

Gwen huffed out a laugh and said “Naturally.”

 

*****

 

After Gwen and Merlin had finished their breakfast, they spend the rest of the morning strolling around in the park, watching people and feeding the already fat ducks.

 

Later, they went to the bistro and had a lovely lunch, making small talk and joking about plans for the oncoming weeks.

 

Afterwards, Merlin even let himself be dragged to a store, because Gwen needed a new dress for ‘an outing with Lance’. Gwen refused to use the word date.

 

“It’s a date, Gwen, you have to face it.”

 

Gwen blushed, mumbling “No, it’s not. He didn’t ask me out, we were going to try this new Italian restaurant with more people, but then the rest bailed on us.”

 

“Gwen, did it ever occur to you that everyone bailed because they wanted to give you guys a bit more privacy?”

 

Gwen  looked at him pointedly. “Why would they do that?”

 

Merlin snorted. “So that you guys can go together. Because all of us know that if we wait for one of you guys to ask the other out, it will take another 5 years, and your heart boners are slowly killing everyone.”

 

Gwen giggled. “Heart boners?”

 

Merlin grinned. “Yeah, it’s like sexual frustration, but more like, love frustration. Now go and try on some dresses before I regret coming here with you.”

 

With the insistence of Merlin, Gwen eventually decided on a lovely red dress with a sweetheart neckline. Merlin thought Gwen looked absolutely stunning in the dress, and he was sure that Lance would agree. After Gwen paid, they made their way home.

 

*****

 

Merlin was sitting on the couch, zapping through programmes on the telly while Gwen was getting ready for her ‘non-date’. There wasn’t really anything on that particularly struck Merlin’s interest, but he eventually decided on The Great British Bake Off.

 

He was still watching the programme when Gwen came into the room, all dressed up and ready for her ‘non-date’.

 

“Oh, Gwen, you look lovely.”

 

Instead of responding, Gwen slowly sunk down onto the couch with a deep sigh.

 

“Gwen? What is wrong?”

 

Gwen sighed again. “What if tonight is just awful? What if Lance doesn’t even like me and is just too polite to tell me?”

 

Merlin looked at her in shock. “Gwen, that’s just nonsense. Anyone with eyes can see how much Lance likes you, and I’m sure he will think you look lovely. You will probably render him speechless for a moment or two,” he said, bumping his shoulder to hers.

 

Gwen looked up at him, a small smile slowly coming through. “You really think so?”

 

“I don’t think so, I know so. Now go, don’t leave your man waiting for you.”

 

Gwen blushed, mumbled a quick “Thanks” and stood up, making her way to the door. Halfway through the room, she seemed to change her mind, quickly darting back to Merlin, giving him a kiss on the cheek, before walking out, shouting “Bye.”

 

Merlin laughed to himself and turned his attention back to the telly.

 

After some time, Merlin decided it was time for him to start his own dinner. While cooking, he heard his phone beep, indicating he had a new message, but he chose to ignore it for now, focusing on the task at hand.

 

When he was done, he grabbed his plate and made his way back to the couch and the telly, where The Great British Bake Off was still playing.

 

Clicking on his phone, he saw that he had a message from Morgana, asking him if he wanted to drop by later in the evening. He shot her back a quick message saying he would come to her place after he finished eating.

 

*****

 

After dinner, he washed his plate, and slowly made his way to Morgana’s and Arthur’s flat. The walk wasn’t that long, and the weather was quite nice, so he didn’t mind.

 

When he arrived at the flat, he knocked on the door, and waited. He heard some stumbling on the other side of the door, followed by Morgana opening the door, smiling at him. She indicated to her phone, which was currently pressed up to her ear, and mouthed “Come in.”

 

Merlin entered the flat, and hung up his coat. He made his way into the living room, and sat down on the couch. Morgana was in the kitchen, still talking on the phone, having a heated conversation with whoever was on the other side of the line.

 

Merlin looked around the living room, occasionally picking up random bits of telephone conversation, such as “Don’t care”, “not that formal”, “will behave, yes”.

 

After some time, Morgana entered the living room again, carrying a bottle of wine and two glasses in one hand. Putting them on the table, she gave Merlin another smile and straightened up.

 

“No, there is nothing you can do about it. Yes, absolutely. Fine, see you then, father.” With that, she hung up the phone.

 

Merlin looked at Morgana questioningly. Morgana turned to look at Merlin, a wicked grin on her face.

 

“So, Merlin, do you have any plans for this Sunday?”


	8. Chapter 8

***Arthur***

 

The week had dragged on rather slowly; instead of the usual fast-paced university experience, Arthur felt like this week had to be the slowest since he had started university. All of his lectures seemed to bore him somehow, with the professors droning on and on about the material. One particular professor had even managed to make Arthur doze off during a morning lecture, after which he snapped back to reality when the people around him started packing their bags.

 

On top of that, Arthur hadn’t managed to see any of his friends over the week, which bothered him endlessly. Now that he thought about it, Morgana had even yielded her normal pestering, and had not bothered him at all since his short-lived sexuality crisis. That was something that concerned him most, because usually a silent Morgana meant nothing but trouble for Arthur.

 

So, when Arthur’s final lecture on Friday came to a close, he was more than happy to finally be done with this week, and celebrate another week gone by with his friends.

 

Back at his flat, Arthur found that Morgana wasn’t there, but there was a note on the kitchen table stating “Clothes shopping for Sunday, will have dinner in the city”. Arthur briefly wondered why Morgana would need any new clothes for a dinner with their father, but quickly shrugged it off as a simple excuse to go shopping.

 

After debating on whether to get dinner first, or to simply call his friends, Arthur decided to just call Leon to see if he was free. Settling on the couch with the phone in his hand, Arthur waited for Leon to pick up.

 

“Hey!” Leon’s voice was cheerful as always, and Arthur realised he had really missed his friend this week.

 

“Hey man, do you have any plans for tonight?”

 

“I do now,” Leon responded with a huffed laugh.

 

Arthur snorted. “You want to get something to eat?”

 

“How does Chinese sound?”

 

“Brilliant.”

 

“You call the place and I will get on my way to you.”

 

“Okay, see you in a bit, mate!”

 

“See you!”

 

Arthur hung up the phone, and immediately dialled their regular Chinese place to order.

 

*****

 

Leon arrived not long after, and they only had to wait 20 minutes before their food arrived. After having paid the delivery guy, Arthur closed the door and joined Leon in the living room, where some action film Leon had chosen was already playing.

 

They ate their food in comfortable silence, occasionally commenting on the action depicted on the screen. After finishing their food and the film, they cleaned up, and decided it was time to head out to the club, where they would meet up with Gwaine, Percival and Lance.

 

Upon entering the club, Leon and Arthur first made their way to the bar, where they ordered drinks, before looking around and trying to find the other guys. After only 5 minutes, Arthur felt a pat on his arm and turned around, Leon pointing at a direction towards the tables. After a closer look, Arthur could indeed see Lance and Percival sitting there, in a booth near the corner.

 

When they made their way over, Lance spotted them, and waved. Percival seemed to spot them as well not long after, giving a smile and scooting over so that Arthur and Leon could slide him with them.

 

Arthur barely had time to put down his beer and slide into the booth before his arm was grabbed, and he was dragged out of the booth again. When he looked towards who had grabbed him, he saw Gwaine dragging him towards the dance floor, giving him a sly smile. Arthur let himself be dragged towards the dancefloor, trying to avoid colliding with people who were already there, when Gwaine came to an abrupt stop and started dancing wildly. Arthur had always thought that Gwaine was the prime example of “Dance like no one else is watching.” He grinned to himself and started dancing as well, ready to forget all about his torturous week.

 

Arthur got lost in the rhythm of the club, the beat of the music, closing his eyes to the sway of the people, and he had no idea how long he had been dancing when he suddenly felt someone press up against his front. He slowly opened his eyes and they were met with a voluptuous dark haired woman. She smiled coyly at him and plastered herself against him, wrapping her arms around his neck to drag him impossibly closer.

 

She brought her red lips closer to his ear and said “You seem to be having a good time. Want to get out of here and have an even better time?” She pulled back her head to watch his face. Arthur just stared at her for a second, before he shook his head, saying “Not interested, thank you.” The girl shrugged, seemingly not caring about Arthur’s disinterest, and disentangled herself from Arthur, already moving on to another guy. When Arthur lost sight of her, he looked in front of him, only to be met by Gwaine’s face.

 

Gwaine had a goofy smile, that clearly indicated that he was well on his way to being drunk. Gwaine moved his head closer to Arthur’s and said “When are you going to tell him, princess?”

 

Arthur looked at Gwaine with confusion in his eyes.

 

Gwaine snorted out a laugh, coming closer again. “You’re not fooling anyone, mate.” With that, he spun around a little unsteadily, marching towards the booth, before dragging Percival out as well, taking him towards the dance floor where they were quickly swallowed by the mass of people.

 

Arthur suddenly didn’t feel like dancing anymore, and slowly walked back to the booth. Once he had joined Lance and Leon, he slowly started sipping his drink, staring at nothing in particular, letting his thoughts roam freely. Had Gwaine been talking about his crush on Merlin? And, more importantly, if he had been, what did he mean when he said Arthur wasn’t fooling anyone? Did that mean that Merlin knew?

 

Arthur was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even hear Leon talking to him, only brought out of his reverie when Leon’s hand waved in front of his face.

 

Leon looked at him questioningly. “You okay, Art? It looked like you were very far away there.”

 

Arthur gave Leon and Lance his best smile. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

 

*****

 

The following day, Morgana and Arthur prepared themselves for Uther’s dreaded dinner-party. Even though Arthur knew for a fact that Morgana hated these as much as he did, she seemed awfully chipper about the whole ordeal. Arthur chose not to question it though, rather wishing to stay out of whatever wicked plan Morgana had conjured up this time.

 

When they arrived at Uther’s house, Lady Nemeth and Mithian had both already arrived as well, accompanying Uther in the sitting area of the house. Mithian was exactly as Arthur remembered her, and she greeted him with a smile. Arthur politely shook her hand, as well as Lady Nemeth’s hand, and took a seat on one of the other chairs.

 

After a short round of talks, Uther announced that everyone should get ready for dinner. Just when Arthur wanted to follow everyone else, the doorbell rang. Arthur looked at Morgana questioningly, he hadn’t realised that his father was expecting more guests.

 

Morgana just grinned at him. “Well Arthur, are you just going to stand there, or are you going to open the door?”

 

Arthur glared at Morgana for a moment, before he headed towards the door, and Morgana headed for the dining room.

 

Arthur was still trying to figure out who it was that his father could have invited as well, when he opened the door and was met with Merlin’s face, awkwardly smiling at him.


	9. Chapter 9

***Arthur***

 

After staring at Merlin for a minute, Arthur finally got his wits together again, and asked Merlin “What are you doing here?”

 

Merlin sputtered out “Oh, Morgana invited me, didn’t she tell you?”

 

Arthur instantly felt himself blush slightly. Of course, this had to be Morgana’s evil plan. He looked at Merlin again, who looked at him expectantly.

 

Merlin smiled shyly. “Can I…?” He gestured to the inside of the house.

 

“Oh, yeah, of course, sorry.” Arthur felt himself blush deeper again, opening the door wider so that Merlin could step inside.

 

“Can I take your coat?” Arthur asked.

 

“Yeah.” Merlin took off his coat and handed it to Arthur. Now Arthur got a good look as to what Merlin was wearing. He looked nice. Black skinny jeans, and a dark blue button-down shirt that brought out his eyes. He didn’t think he had ever seen Merlin wear a button-down shirt, hell, he didn’t even think Merlin owned a button-down shirt.

 

Arthur slowly put Merlin’s coat on the coat rack, but before he had time to say anything else to Merlin, his father’s voice sounded from the dining area. “Arthur, what’s keeping you so long? Bring our guest in, dinner’s ready.”

 

Arthur mumbled a quick “Follow me” and spun around, leading Merlin to the dining room. Everyone else was already seated, leaving two places for Merlin and Arthur across from each other. Morgana patted the empty chair right next to her and said “Merlin, you can sit here.”

 

Merlin smiled at her, said “Thank you”, before sitting down and turning his attention to Uther, stating “And thank you for having me over.”

 

Uther gave Merlin a quick nod, and turned to Lady Nemeth, who sat across from him.

 

Arthur sat down on the table as well, looking down to avoid any more eye contact with Merlin, trying not to blush. When he looked up, his eyes met Morgana’s, who raised an eyebrow at him and pointedly looked from Arthur to Merlin and back. Arthur slowly shook his head, trying to convey to Morgana that she had to stop whatever evil plan she had. Morgana just shrugged and turned back to her conversation with Merlin.

 

Dinner after this was, well, very awkward. Arthur didn’t know where to look or how to properly join the conversation without being incredibly aware that Merlin was sitting across from him.

 

Mithian tried to pull him into a conversation, asking him questions about his current lectures, the extracurricular activities he’s in, and how his group of friends are doing, but Arthur only made half-hearted attempts at answering.

 

At one point, the conversation took a turn for the worse, when Lady Nemeth asked Merlin casually “So, Martin, do you have a girlfriend?”

 

“Merlin,” Merlin corrected her, “And no, I don’t. I’m actually gay.”

 

The whole table fell silent for a minute, and Arthur looked at his father, waiting for his reaction. Uther slowly put down his spoon and coughed. “I’m sorry? I must have misunderstood, I thought you said you were gay.”

 

“No, you didn’t,” Merlin said without hesitation, “didn’t Morgana or Arthur tell you?”

 

Arthur held his breath. Uther looked at Merlin sharply and said “Why would they tell me? If they had known they wouldn’t have invited you here, I’m sure of it. My children don’t hang out with people of your kind.”

 

“Father,” Arthur mumbled softly.

 

“My kind?” Merlin asked, clearly offended.

 

“Father, don’t” Arthur tried to say, but Uther interrupted him, “Yes, the kind that has no morals, and pull others in to join their indecent behaviour.”

 

“I’m not any more indecent or immoral than anyone else here at this table,” Merlin said defiantly.

 

“I think it’s best if you go, and don’t expect Morgana or Arthur to be friends with you any longer. I will not stand for it.”

 

“Father,” Arthur said again, this time louder, but it was of no use, as Merlin was already standing, his chair sliding back loudly. Arthur and Morgana stood up as well, Morgana trying to grab his hand, but Merlin was already heading for the door with aggressive strides.

 

When Merlin walked past Arthur, Arthur grabbed his wrist, and said “Merlin, wait.”

 

Merlin turned around, and gave Arthur a sad smile. “No, it’s okay, I think it’s time that I go.”

 

Before Arthur could say anything else, Merlin slipped out of his grasp, got his coat, and headed for the door, after which it slammed shut.

 

Arthur looked around to see Morgana still standing, looking at him with one of her eyebrows raised, a look on her face that said “What are you waiting for?”

 

Uther had tried to regain normalcy of the situation and started up a conversation with Lady Nemeth and Mithian again. After a minute, Uther looked up to see Arthur still standing, and said “Arthur, why don’t you sit down?”

 

Arthur took a deep breath, and mumbled “I’m gay.”

 

Conversation stopped again, and everyone turned to look at Arthur. Uther, without any emotion in his voice, simply said “What?”

 

Arthur swallowed thickly, and looked at Morgana, who gave him a reassuring nod. “I’m gay,” he said, a little louder this time.

 

Uther sighed. “Arthur, now is not the time for these games, and…”

 

“No,” Arthur said strongly, “This is not a game. I’m gay, and you just send away the boy I’m in love with.”

 

Next to him both Lady Nemeth and Mithan gasped. Uther merely stared at him, speechless. Arthur looked at Morgana again, and she mouthed “Go!”

 

Before anyone else could say anything, Arthur left the table, and sprinted out the front door. If he was fast, he could catch up with Merlin.

 

Arthur, running at full speed, took the route he knew Merlin must have taken to go back to his and Gwen’s place. After a few minutes of running, Arthur could see Merlin in a distance, walking slowly, shoulders sagged.

 

“Merlin, wait!” Arthur shouted.

 

Merlin stopped abruptly and turned around.

 

When Arthur caught up with him, he was breathing harshly. “Merlin, I’m so sorry, my father was totally out of line…”

 

“Arthur, it’s fine, really,” Merlin gave him that sad smile again. “It wasn’t your fault.

 

“But I should have stopped him, I should have said something, I’m sorry.”

 

They stood together for a bit, no one speaking.

 

“I just told my father I’m gay,” Arthur blurted out before he could think of it, and he winced.

 

“Oh,” Merlin stared at him, “That’s…good. Look, I don’t blame you, this wasn’t your fault, so we can still be friends, I guess.” Merlin stared at his feet for a bit.

 

“Merlin, I…I don’t want to be your friend.”

 

Merlin looked up sharply, his eyes wide. “What?”

 

“I don’t think I can be your friend, since I’m in love with you, you idiot. If you don’t feel the same way, I understand, but I cannot be just your friend.”

 

Merlin stared at him, mouth open, before speaking again. “Are you…are you serious?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Oh, thank god.” Before Arthur had time to ask what he meant, Merlin kissed him. It was a little clumsy, with Merlin going in a such a speed that their teeth clacked together. Arthur slowly grabbed Merlin’s face and eased into the kiss a little more, making it slower.

 

After they broke off, Arthur didn’t let go of Merlin’s face. “So, would you like to get dinner somewhere?”

 

Merlin smiled at Arthur. “I would love to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the end of the main story, the final chapter is a short epilogue.


	10. Chapter 10

***Merlin***

 

The last few weeks had been wonderful. Merlin felt like he was living in a dream. Dating Arthur was just great, and yes, he could say that now, they were dating.

 

Their friend group took it pretty well, with everyone nodding and congratulating them, Gwaine clapping Arthur on the back and saying “Glad you finally grew a pair, princess”, which Merlin didn’t dare to question. Arthur had just glared at Gwaine, and everyone had burst out in laughter.

 

This little revelation tipped the scale for Gwen and Lance, who finally dared to admit that they were actually dating. When they told the group, everyone sighed and said “Finally”, after which they all laughed and cheered.

 

But, yes, Merlin was really happy. He saw Arthur more now, either meeting at Arthur’s place or his. They sometimes went out, to see a film together or grab dinner or lunch somewhere.

 

Arthur actually decided that his life needed something else besides university and clubbing, and now additionally Merlin, so he joined the football team. Once a week, he would practice and every Saturday, there would be a game, which Merlin watched religiously, sometimes joined by Morgana or Gwen, or one of the guys.

 

Life was pretty great. Arthur still wasn’t strictly on speaking terms with his father, but they acknowledged each other every time they met together with Morgana for a lunch date. Merlin never joined them, because even though Arthur had expressed that he was fine, and his father shouldn’t complain, Merlin still felt incredibly awkward by it all.

 

Merlin just enjoyed all the time that he and Arthur spent together.

 

One evening Arthur and Merlin were sitting on Merlin’s couch, all alone since Gwen was out with Morgana. Merlin sighed happily, and snuggled closer into Arthur’s side.

 

Arthur snorted out a laugh. “What are you doing?”

 

Merlin looked up at him and smiled. “Nothing, I’m just happy.”

 

Arthur smiled and slid an arm around Merlin’s shoulders. “Yeah, me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was it! Kudos or comments are highly appreciated!


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